Spring seat construction



Oct. 11, 1949. J, M. Nut-:KELSEN Erm..

SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION Filed nec. 11, 1944 WMMMXYP@ rra/e/veys Patented Oct. 11, 1949 UNITED sfrA'rss rArENr derrice SPRINGv SEAT' CONSTRUCTION- ,e John. Mz. Nickelsen,4 Ann Arnon. and` charles; E. Read, Monroe, Mich., assignors to Monroe Auto Equipment Company, Monroe, Micha a corporation of Michigan Applicationecemher. 11, 1944, Serial No. 567,642

2- Claims'. l,v

This invention relates to vehicle seats and refers more particularly to improvements in resilient mountings for vehicle seats.

One of the principal 'objects of this invention is to provide a yieldable seat mounting which may be used on vehicles' of the type wherein the frame is nonresiliently connected' to the road engaging wheels to protect the occupantA of' the seat from the fatigning effects of roadroughness or may be employed on vehicles equipped with spring suspension means to assist* or coactA with the latter in providing superior ride characteristics.

Unfortunately, the chassisv engineer in design- The lower end of. the tube I5 is closed by al plate I'Sgpalso weldedto thetube I5, and having a centrally disposedfspherically shaped recess 2 0. The tube L6 is closed at the top thereof v by means of' an attaching plate 2| having marginallportions,

adapted to be secured to the seat It; and having the, central portion fashioned to, forman annular hub 22. The hub, portion `22 is sleeved inthe upperrendfof the tube IiY and the latter end is preferably welded to the hub sothat the plate ing suspension systems for vehiclesmust takeinto '2I` also forms a unit with the pedestal. It will consideration factors other than providing., the further be noted fromA Figure 2 of the drawing occupants of the vehicle with the bestv possible that, the central. portion of the hub 2iA is oiset ride under all' conditions.. In trucks,I buses and, inY an upward direction to form an annular, reother vehicles adapted to carry substantial loads, cess 23:. v v u y e j the springs mustI be sufficientlyA stifjto preventv The pedestal' I4 'is normally urged to its eX- bottoming when the vehicle: is drivenover rough or relatively uneven road surfaces and, of course, stii springs are not conducivek to obtaining good riding qualities. The problemsy of the. chassisengineer are not reducedI to any material* extenti" when designing suspension systems for relatively' light passenger vehicles' as the ideal spring rate for a so-cal-led boulevard ride is noty practical when the vehicleis driven over relatively uneven or rough roads and, accordingly, some compromise must be made in designing the suspension system. l A

As a result of the above the occupant ofthe vehicle at best receives only an average ride, and it is with this in view that the present invention contemplates a seatl mounting embodying a suspension spring and double acting shock absorber combined to provide the occupant of the seat with an improved' ride regardless of the design of the vehicle suspension, system.

The foregoing, as well as other objects, will be made more apparent as this description proceeds,

especially when considered in connection with o the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a seat mounted in accordance with this invention;I and Figure 2 is a vertical sectionalI view through the mounting shown in Figure 1.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, it will be noted that the reference character I' designates a 'vehicle seat comprising a cushion portion II and a back portion I2. The seat l0 is suspended from a support such as the ooring I3 of a vehicle body by means .of a pedestal I4 compricing telescopically engaging tubes I5 and I6.

Upon reference to Figure '2 of the drawing it will be noted that the lower end of the tube I5 is attachable to the vehicle body ooring I3 by a plate Il having an upstanding annular flange I8 forming a hub 0f Sllfell? diameter to receive tended position. by means of' a coil spring 2d of the. compression type.y The coil spring 24, is positi'oned in the; pedestal I4 in concentric relation to the', axis of the tubes I5l and It. The upper end' of the spring 24' extends into the recess 23 and seats againstthe' adjacent wall of the hub 22j. The lower end of the spring reacts against the support or flooring, I3' of. the vehicle body so that actually the springtends to move the tube Itv and seat II) in `an upward direction relative to the, tube l5. '4

The extent of upward movement of the seat IllF by the spring 24 is limitedY by a pair of studs 25 positioned on diametrically opposite sides of the rpedestal vIll and having the upper ends clamped to the plate 2iIi by means .of nutsY 21E. The lower end portions of the studs 25', re-

spectively, extend freely through suitable ears 21 projecting laterally outwardly from opposite sides of the tube l5' and stops 2 8 in the form of nuts are mounted on the studs between the ears 21.. Thenuts, 28 abut the lower ends of the ears 21. to restrict the upwardinovement of the seat,

by the action of the'spring 254, and these nuts are adjustable to enable varying the elevation of the seat.

The action of the suspension spring 24 is controlled by a tubular direct acting shock absorber 29o having a pressure. cylinder 30 filled or substantially lled with a hydraulic uid medium and having an outer tubular casing 3l concentri cally positioned with respect to the pressure cylindex'.y The internaldiameter of the casing is greater than the diameter of the pressure cylinder and cooperates with the latter to provide a reservoir 32 around the pressure cylinder. The lower end of the reservoir is closed by a cap 33 having a generally spherically shaped end portion and having an annular flange 34 secured to the lower end of the casing 3|. The upper ends of the reservoir and 4cylinder are closed by a capI 35 centrally apertured to slidably` receive a rod 36 having apiston 31 secured to the lower endthereof in sliding contact with the inner wall of the cylinder 30.

The piston 31 is provided with an outer series of ports 38 and with an inner seriesof 'ports 39.

laminated pressure relief valve 4I clamped to the bottom of the piston. The abovev construction is such as to provide a controlled 110W of hydraulic fluid medium in opposite directions through the piston.

The lower end of the Vcylinder 30 is closed by a'valve 42 having a central opening 43 communi- 'eating with the reservoir 32 and having a series of ports 44 surrounding the central opening 43 and also communicating with the reservoir. The flow of fluid into the cylinder 30 through the central opening 43 is controlled by a check valve 45, and the iiow ofv iiuid from the cylinder 30 to the reservoir32'is regulated by a laminated pressure relief valve 46.

vIn operation, whenthe piston 31 travels down-V wardly Athe uid in the cylinder 30| below the piston flows upwardly through the series of ports 38, and the pressure of this fluid unseats the check valve 4D to permit the fluid to ow into the cylinder above the piston. However, all of the uid in the cylinder below the piston can not be accommodated in the portion of thecylinder above the piston, due to the displacement of the piston rod. Thus, as the piston continues to `move in a downward direction in the cylinder 30 suiicient pressure is built up against the valve 46 to unseat the latter and permit the excess uid to pass into the reservoir 32 through the ports 44. On the other hand when the piston moves in an upward direction in the cylinder 30, fluid under pressure acts with the hydraulic fluid medium. The required additional amount of uid is supplied by the reservoir 32 through the check valve 45, which opens relatively freely so that very little or no resistance is offered to the flow of the fluid. Thus, it will` be apparent that the recoilV or damping action of the shock absorber is regulated by the pressure relief valve 4I on the piston 31, and this valve is calibrated to provide the desired operation.

The shock absorber 29 is positioned in the compression spring 24 and the spherically shaped end of the cap 33 seats in the correspondingly shaped recess 26l formed in the plate I9., The upper end of the rod 36 extends through a central opening 46 through the plate. 2| and is Yclamped to the plate by means of the abutment 41 and clamping nutli. As shown in vFigure 2 of the drawing, the

opening 46 is longer in diameter than the por--` tion of the rod 33 extending therethrough andl resilient washers are provided on the rod at opposite sides of the plate 2l to provide for limited tilting movement of the shock absorber relative to the pedestal.

The lower end of the shock absorber is clamped in place on the'plate I9 by the compression spring',y

24. As shown in Figure 2, a ring 49 is sleeved; on the `lower end l,of the tubular casing 3| and is.

welded o r otherwise securely fastened to the cas ing. The lower end portion of the ring is flared outwardly and is provided with an annular seat 50 which forms an abutment for the lower end Iof vvthe' sprin`g`24. Thus, it will be seen that the spring not only,yieldably supports the seat t0,

Vb'ut'in additionserves'to anchor the shock ab ,ing member, a pedestal extending between the member and support comprising telescopically engaged tubes, means normally urging the tubes to their extended positions including a compres sion coil spring positioned in the pedestal in concentric relation to the axis of the tubes and hav-- ing the opposite ends respectively reacting on the.- upper end lcf the uppermost tube and on the sup-- port, means determining the elevation of the seaty carrying member including stops extending laterally outwardly from oppositevsides of the lower-y most tube and vertical rods having the upper ends. anchored on the seat carrying member and having adjustable abutments onthe lower ends respectively engageable with the stops in the extended positionof the pedestal.

2. A vehicle seat construction comprising a seat carrying member, a supportfor said member, a pedestal extending between ,the member and supportcomprising telescopically engaged tubes, a closure for the bottom of the lowermost tube and having a spherically shaped recess at the center thereof forming a socket, a hydraulic direct acting tubular type shock absorber extending axially of the pedestal within the latter, a casing for the shock absorber having a spherically shaped portion at the bottomengaging in the spherically shapedsocket and .providing a universal pivotal mounting for the shock absorber, means connecting the upperend of the shockabsorber to the seatv carrying membenacoil spring'of the compression` type surrounding the shock absorber and having the upper end engaging the seat carrying member, and meansat the lower end of the shock absorber casingforming aseat for the corresponding end of the coil spring.

yJo'HN M. NrcKELsEN. CHARLESE. READ. REFERENCES CITED The following references'are of record in the leof this patent? v -l UNITED lSTATES PATENTS Number Switzerland Oct. 1, 1929 

